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To: Tdu Transportdownunder transportdownunder@...>
Sent: Sunday, 14 April 2019, 10:09
Subject: Thurs.21.3.19 daily digest

Roderick
Thurs.21.3.19 Metro twitter.
8.23 Craigieburn line: Minor delays (an equipment fault near Newmarket).
- 9.11 clearing.
- 9.36 Second day in a row the 9.25 from Newmarket has been cancelled. And if yesterday is anything to go, by most people here will miss the 9.40 because there’s no room left to get on. Very amateurish stuff.
- Hopeless
- Always an excuse.  Just do your jobs.
9.08 Minor delays (a mob of kangaroos on rail lines near Lilydale).
- 9.40 clearing.
- Likely story.  Any excuse.
- Were police notified?
- That’s new! Photos or it didn’t happen.
14.09 Belgrave line: Minor delays (police at Ringwood).
- 14.16 clearing.
17.07 Alamein/Belgrave/Lilydale/Glen Waverley lines: Minor delays clearing after an earlier [unannounced & unexplained] 'operational incident' near East Richmond.
- 17.40 You need to change the station list in the city for peak hour commuters. Yet again a train that said city loop express to Camberwell doesn't stop, and then randomly stops in Surrey Hills. Every week your trains skip said schedule. No wonder everyone drives. Shit service.
- Private enterprise or government service?
17.43 Belgrave/Lilydale lines: Minor delays (an equipment fault near Ringwood).
- 18.16 now major.
- 18.19 The driver hasn't said one word about what's going on, and our train is 20 minutes behind schedule.  Maybe if they provided an update it would give us something to tell our FAMILIES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET HOME TO.
- We currently have delays up to 20 minutes. There should be announcements by the driver.
- As I said, the driver has said nothing, while doing very jolty stopping and starting. They should be warning us of these...its dangerous!
- We have announcements, but noone can understand a word which the driver is saying; it's all muffled.  Either the speakers are not working, or the driver doesn't know how to use the intercom (in 69M).
- There may be a fault with the speakers.
- Driver needs to let us know he's about to slam the brakes on, before someone gets hurt. 18.33 I'm heading towards Lilydale, we're at Mitcham station..
- There should be an announcement from the driver.
- Every day this week my train travel has been disrupted. If I got this kind of services in a restaurant I probably wouldn't pay.
- 18.37 No announcement on the upper FTG train.
- An update on the train would definitely be helpful!
- This is absolute BS. How about you spend some of the money we waste on this crappy service to maintain the equipment so we can actually get home!
- 18.48 This is ridiculous, train keeps braking and jolting and the only 'announcement' we get is a distorted muffle in the speakers.  This is by the far the worst train ride I have had this month. (Carriage number 231M)
- There may be a fault with the speakers.  The fault near Ringwood is causing congestion down the line.
- Also a fault with 49M.
- Do these things ever get checked?
- 19.02 Sitting at Heatherdale now. There have been several announcements and we've been kept well informed. Good work guys!
- all they have said is that there are delays...which is obvious. They haven’t given any indication of timeframe for service resumption.
- Trains are moving through the area with major delays. We do not have a time frame, but our maintenance staff are on-site working on the issue.
- AGAIN?
- here is my train between Nunawading and Ringwood... The 901 bus is so much faster than your service tonight!  Shhh, don't tell the hundreds of people per train my secret!
- 19.07 I would love to get home. Got on the train at Flinders at 17.48; it’s over an hour trip now. Can you please work harder to get us home, considering that I paid for your service?
- 19.10 Staff are on site working hard to fix the fault near Ringwood.
- 19.57 Still working on it.
- Please install beds on the train. It’s getting dark and i’m tired.   God knows what time i’m getting home tonight. refund please.
- 20.05 It's dark and the train has stopped so frequently that I don't know where I am any more.  These seats aren't designed for such a long trip.
- My bum hurts from sitting on the seats for 2 hours
- 20.26 Major delays clearing.
- 20.29 Not where I'm sitting!
- How do we apply for compensation?
- Myki is managed by PTV.
- 21.19  Delays now reduced to minor.
Why do you lie about arrival times? For over 6 mins the metro rep at the station kept announcing that the 19.12 Williamstown will arrive in 1 minute. At least commuters to Southern Cross can catch a different train if informed in advance! This is the 5th time in 2 weeks this has happened.
21.56 We've got plenty of extra trains to get you home from AFL at MCG.
- will there be bus replacements from Burnley express to Glen Waverley?
- For Sandringham, Frankston, Cranbourne or Pakenham enter Richmond via Olympic Boulevard  for trains departing from platforms 2, 4 and 6.
- For Belgrave, Lilydale or Glen Waverley, enter Richmond via Brunton Ave for trains departing from platforms 9 and 10.
- For Sunbury, Werribee, Upfield, Craigieburn, enter via Olympic Blvd and take any train from platforms 1, 3 or 5 to Flinders Street and change [Jolimont - Flinders St not suggested].  Access to the Olympic Blvd entrance is via the footbridge over rail lines.
- For Hurstbridge or Mernda, enter Jolimont via Yarra Park, where there are plenty of extra trains.
- 22.17 Current wait times leading into Richmond from Brunton Ave are 1-2min.
- 22.19 Richmond: Crowds are flowing well through the Brunton Avenue subway..
- 22.24 Current wait times leading into Richmond are 4-5 min.
- Two of your ”footy specials” on the Frankston line failed to show up. The next regular service was 10 mins late. Train is packed. How hard is it for you to get this right?
- What's happening with the Frankston Line?
- 22.27 a Frankston special is currently between Flinders Street and Richmond and on the way.
- Baloney.
- Waiting at Richmond 30 min for a Frankston line train to turn up. Is this a joke?
- Planned ahead for the 22.08 train, but it didn't turn up. Footy season started with Metro as useless as ever.
- What a load of crap PTV - 25 minute wait for Frankston line train with the promise of three services while we waited. Back to the car. I don’t know why we trusted you in the first place.
- Any chance you can have the trains ready too?
- 22.29 Current wait times leading into Jolimont are 6-7min.
- 22.34 Current wait times leading into Richmond from Brunton Ave are 7-8min.
- 22.48 Richmond: Crowds are clearing well and waiting times are minimal via Brunton Avenue.
- Myki readers are out of action.
- More pathetic delays. Not enough trains.
22.39 Lilydale line: Buses to replace trains Ringwood - Mooroolbark (a person hit by a train).  Buses have been ordered but may take over 60 minutes arrive, consider alternative transport.
- 23.33 Three buses are in operation with a further five enroute.
- 23.53 Replacement buses are departing from Ringwood towards Mooroolbark every 30 min.
- 0.08 Fri. Eight buses are in operation between Ringwood & Lilydale; journey time extended by 30 min.
- 5.14 Trains have resumed.
Melbourne Express, Thursday, March 21, 2019
9.13 There are minor delays on several train lines - Alamein, Belgrave, Craigieburn, Hurstbridge, Lilydale, Mernda, Upfield and Werribee. Most are due to an ill passenger at Melbourne Central.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will splash $70 million on traffic relief in a key Melbourne marginal electorate as he battles for the infrastructure vote before the federal election.
5.42 Metro Trains is reporting good services on all train lines.
<www.theage.com.au/melbourne-news/melbourne-express-thursday-march-21-2019-20190314-p5143u.html>
[It isn't just massacres.  Internet has encouraged flame wars, trolls, online abuse & libel and keyboard warriors, often anonymous.  Transport, particularly railways, was conspicuously bad; tramways less often; air, water & road virtually never (since then, tram groups have improved, but bus groups in Australia have gone feral).  It isn't just facebook: back in usenet days, with four groups covering the whole world, a thread could hardly go for three rounds before being flamed.  That continued into forums (the notorious 'sandpit' Railpage Australia TM), and exploded with facebook.  Twitter messages are too brief to contain flames, just swearing].
Internet is damaged but we can fix it, says former Facebook boss
Herald Sun March 21, 2019
video: AFL to crackdown on sexist online trolls
On July 26 1945, a group of scientists huddled in a bunker in the New Mexico desert to test a brilliant new invention.
A secret part of the Allied war effort, they were good people using their unique talents to advance humankind. They were idealistic and dedicated to peace.
Their invention — the atomic bomb and, in time, nuclear energy — would both revolutionise power generation and deliver the horrible spectre of nuclear war.
The world had never seen anything like it.
During my years at Facebook, I often grappled for historical parallels to the unprecedented growth of social media and the internet.
With the internet as their backbone, and algorithms their beating heart, platforms like Facebook, Google, Twitter and YouTube grew in just a few years to touch billions of people, driven by idealistic founders and brilliantly innovative cultures.
The world had never seen anything like it.
Sequestered in Facebook’s Silicon Valley campus, I often wondered how similar my experience might be to those Manhattan Project scientists.
The tragedy in Christchurch felt like an atomic blast to many who social media giants Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images
We each had valiantly noble missions. Theirs was to help the Allied powers defeat fascism. Ours was to connect the world.
But for those scientists in the desert, the searing heat of that first mushroom cloud would portend both the good and the evil of their brilliant work..
The bombing of Hiroshima was only weeks away.
For many of us who built the social media giants and were dedicated to their idealistic missions, the tragedy in Christchurch felt like an atomic blast.
Those killed, wounded and traumatised are the victims of not just firearms, but of the platforms we in Silicon Valley created.
Social media and the internet more broadly have generated immense benefits around the world.GOOGLE, FACEBOOK FACE CRACKDOWN UNDER LABOR
But their toxic by-products — abetting hatred, terrorism, crime, bullying and fake news and undermining data privacy and trust, often made worse by the algorithms that make the internet tick — are impossible to ignore.
Is the world a net better place with the internet and social media? I think the answer is unequivocally “yes”.
But their “negative externalities” — to use an economist’s term — have become so severe that I believe we need a radically different approach to shaping the internet and social media we want for the future.
The toxic by-products of social media such as abetting hatred, terrorism, crime, bullying are impossible to ignore
We need a much deeper understanding of the internet’s problems.
Deep research into the internet’s problems is in its infancy.
It needs to be fast-tracked. Just as the US maintains the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta as a single co-ordinating body for disease research, we need an international Centre for Internet and Social Media Research, funded by countries around the world and by the tech giants themselves, to facilitate empirical research into the negative effects of the internet and social media.
Its work can be used to make fact-based policy decisions around how the internet and social media can and should evolve.
We need agreed global standards about the level of “negative externalities” we are willing to accept.
Today, we have no agreed community standards — at either national or international levels — by which to measure the internet’s problems.
Much of the standard setting has been left to the internet giants, where opacity and inconsistencies abound.
It is therefore impossible to understand how “bad” the internet’s problems are, or whether they are getting “better” or “worse”. Clear global standards can form the basis for an internet social impact report card.
Deep research into the internet’s problems needs to be fast-tracked..
We need an international measurement framework for monitoring the internet’s problems.
Agreeing standards is just the first step.
We also need an international measurement framework for gathering the data required to measure the internet’s performance against any standards.
Much of this data will have to come from the tech giants, who should be compelled to provide it.
Agreed, measurable standards could work like pollution indices in the major cities of the world, giving policymakers and everyday citizens a clearer view of just how “polluted” the internet is and what can be done to improve it.
We cannot leave the tech giants to regulate themselves.
In my experience, the people working inside the tech giants are technically-brilliant and driven to build a better world.
But in asking them to self-regulate their platforms, we are asking them to do something of which they are, on their own, incapable.
Just as those Manhattan Project scientists were not left on their own to manage the regulation of nuclear energy or the control of nuclear weapons, so too do we need governments to take a more proactive, internationally-collaborative role in managing the negative effects of the internet and social media.
This should extend to the concept of “product recalls” when something goes very wrong and personal liability for executives and directors when agreed standards are egregiously violated.
We should invest more into public education programs about the ill-effects of the internet especially into schools.
We need to educate our societies much more explicitly about the possible negative effects of the internet and social media.
We should invest much more into the design and funding of public education programs about the ill-effects of the internet and social media and drive this especially into schools.
Countries have successfully tackled endemic problems like racism, smoking, drink driving, public health and sanitation.
We must attack the internet’s problems with similar single-minded focus.
None of this will be easy. Some may prove impossible in the near term for practical or technical reasons.
But humans can be amazingly inventive, especially when confronted with a horrible crisis such as we face today.
So we must try.
If there is one iota of good that can come from Christchurch, it is the elevation of the internet’s inherent issues to a level of collaborative international problem-solving which can be a model for tackling other global challenges.
Just as Hiroshima has become a centre of reflection and action to rid the world of the evils of nuclear war, so too may Christchurch become a focal point for ridding the internet of its worst toxicity, and in so doing make the world an incalculably more tolerant and peacefully connected place.
We owe no less to Christchurch’s fallen.
Stephen Scheeler is founder of The Digital CEO, Chairman of CEBIT Australia, Executive-in-Residence at the Australian Graduate School of Management and former CEO of Facebook ANZ.
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https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/internet-is-damaged-but-we-can-fix-it-says-former-facebook-boss/news-story/510efe73d7dc27ad6d4f9a6c68ffa981

Fears that USA could displace Australian coal in China March 21, 2019.
<www.theage.com.au/world/asia/fears-the-united-states-could-displace-australian-coal-in-china-20190321-p516cq.html>

Mar 21 2019 Astana no more: Kazakhstan renames its capital after 'People's Hero' Nursultan
<www.traveller.com.au/astana-no-more-kazakhstan-renames-its-capital-after-peoples-hero-nursultan-h1cmga>
Bus driver threatened and spat on in south-east Queensland March 21, 2019
CCTV footage has been released of a woman who yelled, threatened and spat at a Queensland bus driver four months ago.
Detectives were appealing for information to help find the woman following the incident on December 20 at Birkdale, about 20 kilometres east of Brisbane.
A bus driver in Queensland was allegedly assaulted in December last year.
Police said the woman verbally abused the 47-year-old male driver about 3pm on December 20 when the bus stopped at the Birkdale Railway Station bus stop on Napier Street.
The woman then allegedly assaulted him before exiting the bus.
She was last seen walking on the railway platform with a man.
The woman was described as being aged in her mid-twenties, about 175cm tall with an olive complexion, proportionate build and dark hair.
<www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/bus-driver-threatened-and-spat-on-in-south-east-queensland-20190321-p5167t.html>

How Canberra's transport innovation rates against the rest of the country March 21, 2019. 4 comments
A willingness to embrace transport innovation such as ride sharing and driverless cars makes the ACT one of the most progressive jurisdictions in the nation for keeping its population moving, new research has found.
But the national capital would need to invest in driverless rail and adopt digital drivers licences to rival Sydney and Singapore as world leaders in "future transport", according to the industry group behind the study.
Canberra Metro customer service officers Joanne Meeuwissen and Garry Starling ahead of the planned launch of the light rail on April 20.Credit:Elesa Kurtz
As the planned April 20 start date for Canberra’s light rail network edges closer, research commissioned by Tourism and Transport Forum has shown the ACT sits behind only NSW and SA as the nation’s leaders in the uptake of transport innovation.
The report noted the ACT was the first Australian jurisdiction to promote and regulate Uber, and recognised the Barr government’s support for driverless car technology and plans to have an entirely electric fleet of vehicles by 2020-21.
Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond said release of the government’s draft Moving Canberra strategy in December had made the ACT one of only a few states with a long-term integrated transport plan..
The strategy, which covers 2019 to 2045, flags a default 40km/h speed limit on residential streets, floats the idea of road tolls and proposes an expansion of the light rail network every five years.
The forum, the peak industry body for the tourism, transport and aviation sectors, commissioned L.E.K consulting to evaluate five states and the ACT on their uptake of 10 transport-related innovations, including ride, bike and car sharing, autonomous vehicle trials, electric cars, driverless rail and digital drivers licences.
Their progress was measured on four criteria; does it have appropriate regulation for the technology; has it been trialled; has the state government invested in it, and;  whether it is operating at scale. One point was given for each criteria, across the 10 trends, for a maximum of 40 points.
NSW topped the rankings with 34, a point above Singapore, which was included in the study as an example of "international best practice". SA was judged the next most progressive jurisdiction, with 26 points, followed by the ACT on 25. Tasmania and the NT were not scored, as they were found to have shown "less progress" on transport innovation.
The national capital was considered a leader in shared-mobility, having embraced Uber, Airbike's dockless bike-sharing service and car sharing.
It received top marks for its uptake up electric vehicles, while it ticked three of four boxes for autonomous vehicles and payment innovation, which includes e-ticketing.
The government is yet to explore driverless rail, although it is is mentioned in the "future directions" section of its draft transport strategy. It received no marks for digital drivers licence technology.
Ms Osmond said the study had shown the ACT, along with NSW and SA, were at the forefront of transport innovation in Australia.
She urged the government to continue "experimenting" with new transport technology, and strongly advocated extending light rail beyond the Civic-Gungahlin line.
"Light rail is proving to be a real winner around the country," Ms Osmond said. "I know that it's easy for people to get a bit cranky because these things can take time and be an inconvenience - but it's worth it."
"My message to the government would be 'roll on'."
Related Article Light rail stage two would be delivered within five years under the new strategy. Speed limits could drop to 40km/h under new transport strategy
<www.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/how-canberra-s-transport-innovation-rates-against-the-rest-of-the-country-20190321-p5162o.html>

Lawyers involved as Perth station problems escalate March 21, 2019
The Public Transport Authority has revealed lawyers are involved in a dispute over a $7.1 million station escalator replacement program that has resulted in escalators breaking down for months at a time.
An escalator at Whitfords station has been broken for three months despite only recently being replaced as part of three-year lift and escalator replacement program on the Joondalup line and Perth station that finished in November 2016.
The issue has impacted several escalators.Credit:Erin Jonasson
In 2017 the PTA awarded a $116,000 tender to repair an escalator at Warwick Station.
According to Tenders WA both the original replacement program tender and the Warwick Station tender were awarded to global escalator and lift giant Kone.
Speaking to 6PR's Gareth Parker on Thursday morning PTA spokesman David Hynes revealed several of the replaced escalators now had issues as a result of misaligned gears.
He said the decision to place new escalators in existing shells 'had not gone well.'
"We're not alone, this sort of thing has happened elsewhere, we did go into this, we've done a lot of research but it turns out the decision was wrong," he said.
"It would have been better to rip them out and start again."
Mr Hynes said international escalator experts had been brought in to look at the issues.
"It's something we're not the least bit happy about, it's not performed to our expectations we've made that very clear to the supplier," he said.
"We're in continued negotiations with the supplier, they've sent experts over form Germany to have a look at it, we've retained our own international people and experts to provide advice."
He said lawyers were now involved in the discussions.
"Lawyers are involved in some of the discussions. I can't really say much more than that but you can get where I'm coming from," he said.
Mr Hynes said the reliability rate of escalators across the entire network was remarkably high.
"The down time given that they're operating not quite 24/7 but very close to that ... is actually quite low," he said.
He said the authority didn't expect the Whitfords Station escalator to be fixed "for some months".
"We do the best we can in that we turn the remaining escalator to try and address peak flow so as people are arriving its going down or as they're leaving its going up," he said.
Kone was contacted for comment.
<www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/lawyers-involved-as-train-line-escalator-problems-escalate-20190321-p516aa.html>
* The escalator work at Perth Underground is like something out of a Monty Python script. It's been almost TWO YEARS now and they're still not working.. At best the company doing the work is incompetent - at worst just playing the state government for fools.
* with Labor, Greens & Liberals involved there are bound to be costly stuff ups. The Four Major Parties are a milestone around our necks and the Greens call for changes to the electoral system to keep minor parties out is TOO LATE as the Greens are already in our Parliament contributing greatly to the destruction of our state.

March 21, 2019 How a Woodside ad, a newspaper column and a meeting  with the premier helped kill a WA carbon plan
<www.watoday.com.au/national/going-carbon-neutral-would-barely-touch-woodside-s-huge-pilbara-profits-thinktank-20190321-p51697.html>

Prime Minister Scott Morrison to announce $2b fast rail between Melbourne and Geelong
Herald Sun March 21, 2019
A trip between Melbourne and Geelong would take just 32 minutes on the fast rail line to be announced on Friday by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Supplied
A 200kmh bullet train halving travel times between Melbourne and Geelong will form the centrepiece of a $2 billion Budget commitment from the federal government.
The nation’s first high-speed rail project would cut the journey between Southern Cross Station and Geelong to 32 minutes, and would connect to the Melbourne Metro now being built and the planned Airport Rail Link.
Construction is likely to begin within 18 months.
The European-style Geelong link, estimated to cost at least $4 billion and expected to take 10 years to complete, will require matching funding from the Victorian government.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will unveil his promise on Friday, while stumping up another $40 million to kickstart a 20-year vision of “fast rail” links to Traralgon, in the state’s east, and ­Wodonga, in the northeast.
Mr Morrison told the Herald Sun the investment would return time to commuters and enable more people to live in the regions.
It would also help ease the gridlock on the West Gate Bridge and Princes Freeway, which carries more than 54,000 cars and trucks every day.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the fast train investment will return time to commuters and enable more people to live in the regions. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images
The Prime Minister said: “This is all part of our plan to manage population growth that I announced this week, to take the pressure off our big cities like Melbourne and make our regional cities like Geelong even more attractive places to live and work.
“As our population grows, fast rail networks are crucial to easing the congestion pressures in our cities and shaping Australia’s future.”
The government will create a National Fast Rail Agency to work with states, the private sector, and local communities to determine priorities and oversee fast-rail projects.
The fast trains would travel at average speeds of 160kmh, and would use the new track to be built from Southern Cross to Sunshine as part of the rail link to Melbourne airport. They would stop at Sunshine station, before likely running express to Geelong.
The entire line from Sunshine to Geelong will have to be upgraded, and there would be a big revamp of Geelong railway station. A business case would consider whether the fast trains would stop at other stations along the way.
Though tipped to finish by 2030, the project could be completed sooner, depending n how quickly the airport rail link is completed.
The project builds on the $1.6 billion injection by the Commonwealth into Victoria’s ageing regional rail network which includes extra services, upgrades of stations, and faster trips to all corners of the state.
It could also link into the Andrews Government’s ambitious suburban rail loop, which aims to connect every major Melbourne railway line.
The project could boost the government’s chances of retaining the seat of Corangamite, held by Sarah Henderson by just 0.03 per cent.
Labor, which also has an ambitious high-speed rail agenda, will be under pressure to honour the commitment should it win May’s election.
PM, PREMIER GIVE AIRPORT RAIL LINK GREEN LIGHT.
JAMES CAMPBELL: FAST RAIL WILL CHANGE VICTORIA FOREVER.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/prime-minister-scott-morrison-to-announce-2b-fast-rail-between-melbourne-and-geelong/news-story/c65aafa25d69b30cc766796d67f75de8>
* More razzle dazzle.  200 km/h is now common on mainlines in most European countries.  It is least useful on short commuter runs, such as Geelong.  Vast cost to achieve nothing.  Do factor in the time to get to/from the station, and through the convoluted MelbourneSouthern Cross..  Spin and electioneering at its worst.

Geelong-Melbourne fast train will change Victoria forever
Herald Sun March 21, 2019
The fast rail project’s biggest impact will flow from its potential to drive the commercial regeneration of the centre of Geelong. Picture: Supplied
Cutting the journey time between Geelong and Melbourne to 30 minutes will change Victoria forever.
Ever since Europeans started arriving in Port Phillip Bay in the 1830s, the two have been treated as separate cities with separate identities.
And while in recent years the distinction has blurred, the Australian Bureau of Statistics boundaries for ­Melbourne still end a bit past ­Werribee.
PM’S FAST RAIL PLAN TO LINK MELBOURNE AND GEELONG
In contrast, Sydney’s ABS boundaries take in Gosford.
If the ABS treated the 200,000 people in Geelong the same way they treat Gosford, Greater Melbourne would already be the biggest city in Australia.
A railway line that makes it easier to get to Spencer St from Sleepy Hollow than from Frankston will see the final merger of the two communities into one megalopolis.
In the long term, the project’s biggest impact will flow from its potential to drive the commercial regeneration of the centre of Geelong.
Businesses there will be able to easily access a much larger pool of higher-income workers who will commute south.
This would finally see Geelong fulfil its potential as Melbourne’s second CBD, the way that Liverpool has become to Sydney.
A fast railway line will finally see Geelong fulfil its potential as Melbourne’s second CBD.
Really, the only downside for Cats folk is it will make it much easier for away fans to get to Kardinia Park.
High-speed rail will have political implications for ­Geelong too.
In the short term, the ­Liberal Party will hope the $2 billion promise pays off at this year’s general election in the marginal seat of Corangamite, where local MP Sarah Henderson is up against it.
Whether this happens will in part depend on how Labor leader Bill Shorten reacts when the funding is officially unveiled in the federal Budget on April 2. If he’s happy with the plan, the promise won’t be a point of difference on which Henderson can campaign.
Given Premier Daniel Andrews is ­already looking into regional fast rail, Labor is unlikely to object.
Turning Geelong, eventually, into a commuter suburb of Melbourne while at the same time attracting businesses there should help the Liberals.
In recent years, governments of both persuasions have been keen to move government offices to Geelong to offset the closure of the Ford factory. So now the headquarters of the TAC, WorkSafe and, most importantly, the NDIS are in Geelong.
The last one was an idea of the cunning brains in the Gillard government who realised that possibly the only thing sweeter for the Labor Party than relocating public servants to Geelong was relocating ­disability public servants to Geelong.
The political consequences have been predictable. At the state election, the Liberals lost their last seat in the ­region. Making Geelong a commercial centre has the ­potential to even things up there.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/james-campbell/geelongmelbourne-fast-train-will-change-victoria-forever/news-story/0dcac70aef772ecb93b3cb0ceee68b2f>
* Why does everything to do with transport in this state have to be smothered in propaganda, spin and outright lies?  Yet another useless gold-plated overpriced ego-boosting ribbon-cutting project, while the rest of the suburban system (including Frankston) languishes.